49ers’ Kaepernick is loaded for Bears

Six days from now, on “Monday Night Football,” we will learn a lot about the alternately dominant and lethargic 49ers. They will tangle with the Chicago Bears, another Super Bowl contender with a sturdy, dynamic defense.

What a perfect way to find out exactly what Colin Kaepernick can do.

The 49ers naturally would prefer for Alex Smith to shake off the effects of Sunday’s concussion and return against the Bears. Smith might give the 49ers the best chance to win, but his availability spins in doubt.

If Smith sits, an intriguing game becomes even more fascinating. Kaepernick would make his first NFL start, staring into the menacing eyes of linebacker Brian Urlacher as he attempts to solve the league’s fifth-ranked defense – in prime time, with the full and undivided attention of our football-mad nation.

This could count as a long-term blessing for the 49ers. They’ve wondered about Kaepernick for more than a season and a half, tantalized by his distinctive combination of size, speed and arm strength. They were curious enough to build in cameo appearances throughout the first half of the season.

Cameos are one thing and abruptly entering a game against the Rams, as Kaepernick did Sunday, is another. The scenario potentially at hand – practicing with the first team all week, as an elite defense simultaneously prepares for him – would take this experiment into a new, revealing realm.

“Colin has some unique skills,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday. “He’s able to extend the play with his running ability, make yards with his feet, and he has a very strong throwing arm. Both those things showed up in the ballgame (Sunday).

“It was a positive, the way Colin handled himself. He was confident. He was not scared.”

This is no surprise, given the way Kaepernick comes off in interviews. He deftly strikes the right tone, a diplomatic mix of deference to Smith and abundant faith in himself.

At midseason last year, near the end of a 20-minute conversation about his learning curve as a rookie, Kaepernick deflected a question about the educational value of watching from the sideline.

“I feel I have the ability to lead this offense,” he said then. “It’s just a matter of when that time and opportunity comes.”

Early this season, again, he declared his readiness to play. And after Sunday’s game, when Kaepernick was asked if he would be comfortable taking his team into “Monday Night Football,” he offered two simple and direct words: “Very comfortable.”

He looked supremely comfortable down the stretch against St. Louis, at a time you might expect backup-quarterback nerves to engulf him. Kaepernick showed his arm strength on the first play of the fourth quarter, unleashing a laser-beam completion to Mario Manningham along the sideline.

Five plays later, Kaepernick showed his inexperience by holding the ball too long and fumbling on a sack (fullback Bruce Miller recovered). Then, to end the drive, he put those unique skills on full display: galloping around right end, using his long legs and long arms to dive for the pylon on a 7-yard touchdown run.

Not many NFL quarterbacks make that play.

Offensive coordinator Greg Roman understands Kaepernick’s diverse talents – Roman has raved about Kaepernick’s ability to cover ground with his long strides – and no doubt will work in some designed runs if he starts Monday night. Kaepernick gained 66 yards on eight carries against the Rams, on a mix of scrambles and planned runs.

His style contrasts sharply with Smith’s, presenting a dilemma this week. Do the 49ers prepare one game plan for Smith and another for Kaepernick? Harbaugh unconvincingly downplayed the possibility, saying, “There could be some subtle differences, but I wouldn’t call it two plans.”

This much is clear: The 49ers must play much better than they did Sunday to make a postseason run. Their schedule is stout, with road games remaining against white-hot New Orleans, mighty New England and feisty division opponents St. Louis and Seattle.

And the NFC is stacked, from the Falcons and Bears to the Giants and Packers. The 49ers didn’t fare so well the last time they faced another top-tier NFC team (the Giants rolled 26-3), so Monday night’s game carries plenty of import, from playoff seeding to chest-puffing rights.

It’s a lot for Kaepernick to digest – and precisely what he and the 49ers need.